MLB Week in Review (October 19-25)

The World Series hasn’t started very well for the Los Angeles Dodgers as they opened their second straight appearance with two losses.

It couldn’t have gone much worse for the Dodgers as they were unable to put up much of a fight against the Red Sox.

With Boston coming in as the best team in the league and a team that seemed as though they had everything going for them.

Still, the Dodgers were coming in with that experience and a hunger to make good on a second straight trip to the World Series.

The two losses were not sending the message that this was going to be a fight for both teams, instead, it showed that the Dodgers might just be outmatched.

Should they find their way back to contending in this series it could be a great comeback story as the Dodgers look to end the drought.

That would go down in the history of the Dodgers to add another amazing chapter in one of the most storied franchises in the MLB.

It is not going to be easy though and the alternative could become another chapter for a franchise that couldn’t get it done.

The Dodgers have been on the losing end since 1988 as a team with one of the longest World Series droughts in the league.

For a storied franchise with a history dating back to the beginning of the league itself not winning a title since ’88 is not something that sits well.

They have had years of being good but just not good enough and that has continued over the last few years.

That included a berth in the World Series last year but in that series, they ran into an unstoppable train in Houston.

The Astros were the best team in the league that year and with a host of young talent, they were going to be hard to beat.

The Dodgers couldn’t get it done as they dropped the series to the Astros and once again came close but couldn’t finish.

This year is another shot to get there but once again they are taking on the best team in the league with a host of young talent.

Last year they came close and with the start of the World Series this year they may be headed for the same fate once again.

That is never a great thing as they could be labelled a great team that was never good enough but for the Dodgers, it could be worse.

Most of those teams that couldn’t get it done eventually do find their way through the weeds and to the championship.

The Dodgers are at risk of being on the other end of the spectrum though as they, like every team, have a window to compete.

That window is starting to close as the Dodgers are a veteran team with players either coming to the end of their careers or the end of their contracts.

That could change the team drastically heading into 2019 as they could be a completely different team.

Even if they do see a similar team and everyone sticks around the players that are leading them right now are bound to begin slowing down.

As they age they will become less effective and nobody really knows when that will happen.

It just seems that this is the last year that the Dodgers have to really compete at the top of the league.

They may very well come back next year and be just as great but there will be a time when they begin to fall off.

That makes this look like an important season and that important season now comes down to two more losses.

Should the Dodgers allow two more losses they could be seeing their last legitimate shot at the World Series fall away thanks to another great team.

It isn’t over just yet though as the Dodgers have a shot with the series heading back to the west coast for the next three games.

At the very least the Dodgers will be fighting to avoid a sweep but that first win could be the beginning of a comeback and an attempt to take home the World Series title.

Extra Innings

New Skips

Just before the World Series began teams were looking to narrow down their lists of potential managers. A number of teams had reduced that list to one and in the first few days of the World Series, a number of them were able to find their new guy. The Los Angeles Angels moved on from the Mike Scioscia era with the hiring of Brad Ausmus. The Minnesota Twins went with a more unorthodox pick hiring Rocco Baldelli who becomes the youngest manager in the MLB at 37 years old. The Toronto Blue Jays landed their man reaching to an in-division rival in hiring Tampa bench coach Charlie Montoyo to lead a young group. Those decisions leave Baltimore as the only team without a manager for 2019 as they continue their search.

Gold Glove Finalists

The finalists for the Gold Glove award were announced this week as the best defensive players in baseball were given their chance to enter the awards hunt. This year’s group is an interesting one with the Boston Red Sox seeing the most nominees and a lot of players looking for their first gold glove ever. Yadier Molina is the senior nominee as he has a total of eight Gold Gloves already and will be going for his 9th. Then there are the others like Mike Trout who has never won a Gold Glove but is looking for his first this time around alongside Jackie Bradley Jr and Adam Engel, neither of which have won before.

First Shot

The first league-wide awards were handed out this week as the MLB got to see some precursors for what might be coming. The Hank Aaron Awards are awarded to the best hitters in each league and this year two frontrunners for the MVP earned their awards. In the American League, it was J.D. Martinez who took home the prize after an amazing comeback year leading the Red Sox. In the National League, the award went to Christian Yelich who took over the league this year with the Brewers. Both Martinez and Yelich will take their first awards in what could be a busy offseason of collecting accolades this year.